Just say yes
by Asher36
Summary: This is a Ichihime story, as i felt it was one i should write. what i have for the storyline right now is there is an issue with someone bringing hollows into town, and targeting mainly Orihime and Chad. what could this be? what does this mean for Ichigo and Orihime? this is a mix of romance, friendship, danger,action. sorry that characters are ooc. that's just how I write
1. Chapter 1

The sun shone brightly down on the little Karakura town. It was a warm summer day, with a pleasant, cool breeze. There was normal activity going along, at the park, there were groups of people playing games, or picnicking. Not Orihime Inoue. She was walking home from her friend, Tatski's house. She had spent most of the morning there, and was walking home, as she felt like she was imposing. Her long hair was being played with in the wind, and it was continually getting blown in her face, but she didn't seem to mind, as she was thinking of other things as she was walking. She wasn't paying very close attention as she walked across a cross walk, and was startled when a car blared its horn loud and angrily at her. She dropped her bag, and its contents spilled out. She sighed and bent down to pick it all up.

Suddenly, there was a voice right in front of her as she hurried. "Here let me help."

She looked up to see a orange spiky haired, brown eyed dude. _Kurosaki-kun…_ She thought, her heart jumping at the sight of him.

"Uh…it's alright." She smiled at him, as she finished gathering her things and straightened up rather quickly. "I got it all done." She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head, and hurried past him as the car had honked again, this time impatiently.

She jumped when Ichigo spoke again. "Why are you walking home alone?"

"I just left Tatski's house…" She slowly turned to look at him and plastered a smile on her face. "I'm fine walking home. I do it all the time."

"But you have a habit of getting injured."

She laughed, her nerves all completely fried from seeing Ichigo. "Yes, I know that. But it's okay, as the injuries are never usually severe enough to…to…" Her mind went blank as she searched for the right words.

He stared at her incredulously. "Don't you have a habit of nearly getting hit by cars?"

"Yes…me and my bad luck…" Her face flushed bright red and she slowly began backing away. "I should probably go home…I…" Her stomach snarled loudly.

Ichigo snorted, and huffed. "I'll see you around, Inoue."

"Bye, Kurosaki-Kun!" She waved enthusiastically at him, and watched him walk away until he was completely out of sight. Then she finally turned around and started walking home again.

Ichigo sighed and shook his head as he walked. He just didn't understand Orihime sometimes. Nothing ever seemed to drag that girl down. He never really understood it…but maybe that was the point.

The breeze continued blowing and he stopped walking, and looked over at all the families playing in the park. That's when he spotted Yuzu, Karin, and his crazy father. He stood there for a minute, his hands in his pockets, considering what he wanted to do. He didn't feel much like being around people lately, that wasn't an easy feeling to explain. But he felt guilty for avoiding his family so much as of late.

_It's probably just stress from this whole Soul Reaper thing._ He thought, still just standing there. _Maybe I just need to relax…have fun._

That's when Orhime's happy, excited face filled his mind. He blinked, not exactly expecting that. Then he shook his head, clearing it, and slowly jogged across the road to join his family.

Orhime reached her home not too longer after her encounter with Ichigo. She swung the door open and stepped in the cool room, and went straight over to the spot with her brother's picture on it, dropped the bag, and kneeled in front of it.

"Brother, I haven't had much to talk about to you lately." She spoke softly. "But today, Tatski and I were playing all sorts of games, I lost most of the time but.." She smiled. "That didn't bother me and I was having fun." Then she hesitated a moment before saying anything more. "But when I was coming home, I ran into Kurosaki-Kun. I wasn't really expecting to see him. He doesn't go out much anymore. It seems like there's always something bothering him, but he doesn't tell anybody." That's when her stomach growled noisily again and she laughed. "I should probably eat something."

She slowly got up and went to put a lunch together. As she was making a sandwich there was a knock on the door. She frowned, but the frown dissipated after a few seconds, and she opened the door. A slim, small, dark haired figure, with purple eyes stood there.

"Rukia!" Orihime said enthusiastically. "Come in!"

She stepped to the side and Rukia smiled. "Thank you Orihime." She stepped inside and watched Orihime as she shut the door and turned back around.

"What brings you here?" Orhime asked, ignoring the growling of her stomach.

"I was just wondering…if you had any clue what was up with Ichigo lately. He seems kind of down." Rukia said, frowning.

Orihime shrugged. "Kurosaki-kun never tells me anything. I haven't talked to him much lately." She didn't add the fact that she ran into him out and about.

"Does he talk to anybody anymore?" She muttered.

"I don't know. If he talked to anybody, he probably talked to Chad." She smiled, covering the fact it bothered her that Ichigo didn't tell her anything.

"Alright, well, I better go, I have stuff to take care of. Thank you, Orhime." Rukia smiled and walked out the door.

Orihime walked to the door, and shut it tightly, and let her eyes drift to the floor, forgetting about her food for the time being. It was really starting to bother her that she never saw Ichigo anymore. And she couldn't even remember the last time she saw him smile. She sighed sadly, and went to eat her food.

Ichigo ended up leaving the park a few minutes after joining his family. He just found that it wouldn't cheer him up. He didn't understand fully the extent of his depression. It had to be more than just the Soul Reaper thing. He just couldn't really identify the what. But he just didn't want to be around anybody, he felt like it would make him feel worse.

He was slowly heading home, his hands in his pockets, walking with his typically slump, but he stared at his feet as he walked, trying to figure out what had him so down. There just wasn't a lot to be happy for in his life anymore. He was having a hard time just being able to appreciate his friends. But there_ had_ to be some way to cheer himself up.

Again, Orihime's face appeared in his mind. He sighed and shook his head and started walking home faster. There was no reason for her to be appearing in his mind so much except that it was the first time in weeks that he'd seen her. But there was a nagging feeling somewhere deep inside him, telling him it was more than that. He just didn't want to know what it was.


	2. Chapter 2

Orihime spent the rest of her day mostly just relaxing around her apartment, not entirely sure what else to do. She didn't want to think about Ichigo, that just made her sad, considering how down he's been as of late. But she couldn't really think of anything else to do, so she just wandered around aimlessly, and did a bit of reading, until it was time to shower and go to bed.

In the morning, Tatski called, and they both decided that they would go down to the park. After Orihime ate a breakfast of disgusting oatmeal, she changed into knee length basketball shorts, and a short sleeve T-shirt, and left the apartment. And, as usual, she zoned out as she walked. But, surprisingly, she had no problems as she walked home. It was probably sheer luck that nothing happened to her.

Once she reached the park, she spotted her lean, dark haired friend, leaning against a tree, waiting, with a soccer ball tucked under one arm.

"Glad you dressed properly." Tatski shouted at her, as she approached.

Orihime smiled. "You know I don't do well with sports. I'm not exactly coordinated."

Tatski laughed. "I know."

Tatski placed the ball on the ground and placed a foot on it. "But are you ready?"

Orihime nodded, and for a split second, she wondered what Ichigo was doing, then she banished the thought from her mind. She didn't want to get sad.

Ichigo forced himself to get out of bed, waited until his family was out of the house, then went downstairs to eat breakfast. He still wasn't feeling like he'd be the best company around people. But today felt a little more promising for some strange reason. He didn't identify the reason why but he just didn't care. He just was glad that he was starting to feel somewhat better.

He quickly changed into long shorts and a tank top, and went outside, not really sure where he was going to go. So he just started walking, basking in the fairly warm morning sun. It had to be one of his better mornings. Maybe this summer would turn out better after all.

He started to walk past the park when he heard squeals and hard laughter. He stopped and stared in the direction of where that was coming from and saw Orihime and Tatski playing soccer. Well, it was more like Tatski just kicking the ball, and Orihime very nearly knocking herself over trying to kick the ball. Every time that happened, they both started laughing. This made him smile a bit. It was kind of entertaining to watch.

He moved a little closer, standing in the shade of one of the trees very close to where the girls were playing and he leaned against it and just watched. He just found something to do with himself.

Orihime threw another hard kick at the ball, missed _again_, and had too much momentum, and ended up throwing herself down onto her back. She busted up laughing; she was having too much fun despite absolutely _failing_ at soccer. Tatski was laughing pretty hard too, she was half stumbling half walking after the ball, she was laughing too hard to be walking normally. They were both beyond noticing the tall lanky figure leaning against the tree watching them.

Orihime finally had the sense after a wall to sit up, they'd been playing for a couple of hours now, and she was getting hungry. Luckily, Tatski had packed some snacks, which they ate, and had some water and then they relaxed for a while. That's when Orihime finally noticed the figure and she instantly knew who it was.

"Kurosaki-kun?" She called out, unsure if she was right.

He didn't answer right away. But he did answer. "Hey Inoue. Hey Tatski."

Tatski waved at him. "Come join us. You've been pretty anti-social lately. And don't say you can't. You haven't been doing anything worthy of such an excuse."

Orihime snorted at her wording but watched Ichigo carefully, butterflies suddenly all over the place in her stomach. This didn't happen so much before. She didn't understand why she was suddenly feeling nervous around him all the time. After a moment, she decided it was because she hadn't seen much of him recently.

Ichigo didn't move right off at first, but then he did eventually approach, but hesitated a few feet away, but then settled by them when Tatski gave him a weird glare.

"What's with the anti-social behavior Ichigo?" Tatski asked.

He shrugged. "I dunno. I just haven't felt like being around people."

"I'm happy you're here, Kurosaki-kun." Orihime blurted, beaming at him.

Ichigo stared at her, and returned her smile rather late, but she felt warm inside when he actually smiled. She thought that it wouldn't happen again-at least not a for a long time.

"Well, I'm…glad that I decided to come out and about again." He didn't seem so sure of his words, it was like he was carefully putting his sentence together.

The fact that he didn't seem so sure of himself, was a little saddening to Orihime, but she ignored that. She was just glad that he was here. But she was nervous, unsure of being around him at the same time. That was a feeling she just never understood, because she'd never felt it so intensely around him before.

"Well, I hope you don't turn into a recluse again, Ichigo." Tatski growled at him and her eyes flashed to Orihime and back. "This one has been worried about your health."

Orihime's face turned red and heated up and she looked away, trying to keep her face hidden. She did make it obviously clear to Tatski that she was worried about him, but she didn't want Tatski saying anything _directly to Ichigo_.

"Is that true…Inoue?" He asked quietly.

"Isn't that what friends are for?" She finally looked at him. "Friends always worry about other friends right? Isn't that how it should go?"

Ichigo's eyebrow's knitted together in confusion but then let his face relax. "Yes, I suppose you're right. That's how it should go."

Orihime looked at Tatski, and she just rolled her eyes. Orihime really wondered what her intention was behind telling Ichigo that. But maybe there wasn't really anything and she was just commenting. That's probably what it was. Orihime just had a tendency of over reading things.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Ichigo stood up. "I should probably go…I'm not really comfortable."

Sadness twinged inside Orihime. "I see." She stood up, and brushed her legs off.

Tatski made a sound of annoyance. Tatski had caught on to how Ichigo's words affected her, and she wasn't too happy about it. But that didn't matter; Orihime didn't want to stay if Ichigo wasn't comfortable.

"I guess I'll see you some other time then, Kurosaki-Kun." She unintentionally let sadness creep into her tone as she walked off.

What she would have thought to be the perfect day, ended up not going so well. This made her upset, she thought Ichigo was doing better. But maybe she was more wrong than she thought.

She felt two sets of eyes on her back as she continued walking.


	3. Chapter 3

Tatski was glaring at Ichigo when he turned back around. He frowned at that. What was her deal with him?

"You do realize you upset Orihime right?" She snapped at him.

He sighed and turned back around but she was already gone. That explained her strange behavior. But what did he say that would have upset her? He didn't really get it. His confusion was obviously clear on his face when he turned back around again.

Tatski rolled her eyes. "It's how you've been acting lately. She thought you were getting better when you showed up today, and when you made it _obvious_ that you _weren't_, that made her a little more upset. And you didn't ever notice that?"

Ichigo stared at his feet. "I haven't been out much, so of course I haven't."

Tatski snorted. "You need to be more observant Ichigo." She got to her feet and started in the direction that Orihime had gone.

Ichigo was too stunned to really say anything to Tatski as she left. He still didn't really understand what the heck was going on, but that nagging feeling in the back of his mind returned, and that made his stomach twist in nervousness. But why did that happen? And what made him more confused, is why it made Orihime so upset to see him so upset.

Orihime had walked home rather fast, trying to get away from the park as quickly as she could. Now she was just sitting on her bed, staring at her hands. No tears had escaped from her eyes, but she had gotten dangerously close to allowing them. But she decided, after today, she wasn't going to let Ichigo see her so upset ever again. She _wouldn't_. That wouldn't help him get any better…

She jumped at the banging on her door. Who could that be? She slowly got up, but moved a little faster when the banging got louder. She quickly opened the door to see Tatski standing there, who came in before Orihime could say anything.

"What are you doing her Tatski?" She managed to fake a smile, but Tatski saw right through it.

"Wipe that stupid smile off your face. I know it's not real." Tastski said. "And I came to check up on you."

The smile faded from her face. "I'm fine, Tatski, really. It's not a big deal."

"Well, you got pretty upset when you noticed that Ichigo wasn't comfortable."

She sighed. "I just thought maybe Kurosaki-kun just needed his space."

Tatski rolled her eyes. "He's had enough space from everybody. He's gotten so awkward because he's turned into a recluse."

Orihime couldn't think of another reason for Ichigo's behavior. She probably couldn't defend Ichigo anymore, since there wasn't any reason she could think of for why he was behaving like that. She wouldn't meet Tatski's gaze, and she could feel Tatski still staring at her. She finally just shrugged.

"I would say give him time, but he's clearly had enough of it." Tatski huffed. "I dunno what we can do for him, Orihime."

Orihime finally looked at Tatski and managed a more realistic smile. "It'll be alright. I'm alright."

Tatski sighed. "I'll come back later. I have something I have to take care of."

Orihime let Tatski out, and then slumped against the front door, the sadness welling up inside of her becoming overwhelming. She fled to her bedroom and flung herself onto her bed, buried her face into one of her giant fluffy pillows, and cried.

Ichigo had returned home, still mostly confused about Orihime. Everything was starting to become confusing and unclear since he had run into her yesterday. What was _wrong_ with him? He thumped his head lightly against his bedroom wall; he just couldn't figure it out. There wasn't a chance he could talk to anybody about it, he wasn't even sure himself.

Something thunked against his window and he cautiously approached it and looked out. Tatski stood there, poised to throw another stone against his window, but when she saw him, she gestured at him to come outside. He sighed and stood there for a moment, then headed downstairs and outside. When he got outside, there was suddenly a fist coming in contact with his face and he landed on his back.

He sat up, rubbing his nose. "What was that for?"

Tatski scowled. "You made Orihime upset. I know how she is. She says she fine but she's probably crying right now and just didn't want me to see it."

Ichigo frowned. "What did I do?"

Tatski snorted. "All guys are the same. Go figure."

"What the heck are you talking about?"

Tatski looked like she wanted to punch him again. "You have to stop being so…depressed. You're affecting others too. Especially Orihime. And I'm not afraid to beat the crap out of you if you keep making her upset."

"I'm not meaning to do it." He finally got to his feet. "Honestly, I didn't know that it would affect her."

Tatski just flat out glared at him. "Don't you ever think about others?"

He sighed. "I used to. Lately, I just kinda don't feel like being around anybody. I don't really know why."

"Well get your act together, you're hurting others by being like this. You're probably hurting your family as well."

He flinched; Tatski knew she hit dead center. He hated hurting his family, and she knew that and was willing to use that to hopefully make him seem less…dead and reclusive. He didn't answer for the moment, and he was just staring off to the side, lost in thought of the time being. Tatski just waited patiently for him to say something.

Orihime finally completely cried herself out after a few minutes, but remained on her bed, too exhausted and upset to do anything else. She was glad Tatski wasn't here to see her finally break down. She hated breaking down in front of Tatski, even though she knew that Tatski could always tell when she was faking a smile. Tatski was one of those people who had really good observation skills, and always knew it when she wasn't genuinely happy. She gave up a long time ago on trying to fool Tatski, whereas she always seemed to fool everyone else…even Ichigo.

That nearly made her bust up crying again. She shouldn't be thinking about Ichigo, she _shouldn't._ Tatski wouldn't want her to be this upset, especially about Ichigo. After a sniffle, and rubbing her eyes, she went into her bathroom to check her face. Her hair seemed mostly normal, but her eyes were red and swollen, her face blotchy. All she saw reflected back from her wide eyes was sadness. She turned the faucet on and splashed water on her face. This was getting to the point of ridiculousness. She was going to have to talk to Ichigo, and soon. This didn't need to keep getting worse.

She slowly strode into her living room, where her brother's picture was perched on a cupboard next to the T.V. She kneeled down in front of it, and just stared at his picture. She didn't feel up to telling him anything right now, but she was sitting there, for sheer comfort. And it was working. It was as if her brother was holding her in his warm embrace, comforting her, telling her not to worry, that was his job. That made her feel much better than she was feeling before. A smile spread across her face. She was glad to finally have something to cheer her up. She continued sitting there for a while. Until there was a knock on the door.

She slowly got up and approached the door and managed a genuine happy tone. "Who is it?"

"It's uh-me. Ichigo." Ichigo's voice came through the door.

She froze up and just stared at the door, suddenly unable to move.


	4. Chapter 4

Orihime wasn't entirely sure what to do, she couldn't seem to unfreeze and she stared at the door for a longer minute. Maybe he'd leave if she didn't answer. But is that what she really wanted? She wasn't sure about the answer to that.

"Orihime!" It was Tatski. "Open the door please. I know you're still home."

Orihime finally managed to unfreeze and she unlocked the door. "It's unlocked." She walked into the living room. She just plopped down onto her couch, not really sure what else to do.

The door opened and Ichigo and Tatski came in. Orihime didn't really know how to react to them being here, but for now she was just going to remain calm.

Ichigo looked awkward standing against the wall and Orihime pointed at a chair across from her. "You can sit down if you'd like."

At first, he didn't seem to react, but when he saw Tatski glaring at him, he pushed off of the wall and sat down. Tatski didn't move from her spot, and she was watching Ichigo, like an owl watches a mouse.

"Sorry for making you so upset and worried…I didn't know I was really making you feel that way Inoue." Ichigo said, looking a little embarrassed.

Orihime smiled, although it felt kinda fake. "It's alright. I wasn't _that _worried."

Tatski cleared her throat and Orihime looked at her, noticing her glare. It was obvious that she wanted all of the truth out, not just spouting things to make the situation seem better.

Orihime's smile faded and she sighed. "Okay, maybe I got more worried. But I shouldn't be right?"

Ichigo stared at her for one long moment and then let his eyes drift away. "Right. I need to go."

He got up in a fluid movement and left the apartment in a fluid, fast movement, before Tatski could stop him, before Orihime could even stand up. They were left there staring after him.

Ichigo was feeling stupid for walking out like that, but he felt like he was suffocating in the apartment, and needed to clear his head. He felt better out in fresh air, but that was just because it helped him feel less suffocated; he probably felt that way from Tatski watching him like a hawk. It probably would have been less like that had Tatski just relaxed and let him take care of it. He had told her _repeatedly_ he could handle it himself after he managed to speak when she came to his house and punched him in the face and yelled at him. But she still hadn't believed him and now he was feeling like a world class jerk as he was stomping away from Orihime's apartment. He continued walking, even when he heard Tatski yelling his name. He wasn't going to deal with her. He'd talk to Orihime on his own time, without Tatski acting like a _leash_ for him or something. That was really the last thing he needed.

He came to a stop, still somewhat near Orihime's apartment, trying to think of what he needed to do now. He knew he had to apologize to Orihime as soon as he could manage without Tatski being around him. That was obviously the last thing he really needed.

Then he noticed a big guy, with dark skin and black hair coming in his direction. He recognized who it was.

"Hey Chad." He called out.

"Hey Ichigo." Chad responded, stopping a few feet in front of Ichigo. "I haven't seen you much lately. You doing okay?"

"I've been better, but I've just been anti-social. Not really a good habit." He sighed, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "And now Tatski is bothering me a lot because I apparently upset Inoue."

Chad didn't seem to answer at first and then said. "Tatski is coming."

Ichigo sighed and turned around. "What now?"

Tatski glared at him. "What was with the sudden disappearance?"

"I'd probably not have done that if you would have let me speak to her _alone_." He snapped.

Tatski just stared at him. "That's it…?"

Ichigo snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yes."

"Well then, you go back. And I'll just stay here."

"Fine."

He started walking back to Orihime's apartment. He was a little slow about it, as he wasn't sure if he wanted to be alone with her. _Suck it up._ He thought. He was getting nervous as he got back to her apartment, and noticed the door was still open and Orihime was standing in the doorway, as if she was about to leave.

Orihime just stared at Ichigo for a minute. She had been about to go after him, bring him back to talk, but obviously there was no need to do that anymore. That made her glad, as she wasn't sure if she wanted to go after him, if he didn't want to talk.

She stepped to the side, making it easier for him to come inside. "Come in, Kurosaki-kun."

He stood there for a minute and then nodded, and stepped inside, Orihime quickly closed the door, but didn't feel it was necessary to lock it. He stood there for a moment, until Orihime went and sat down at the couch, and Ichigo sat down in the chair across from her again. It was silent for a moment.

"Sorry about…running out. Tatski was just making me feel pressured." Ichigo finally said something, clearing his throat nervously.

"It's alright really. I know you aren't used to being around people right now." Orihime managed a cheerful tone, that was actually genuine. "I'm glad you came back though."

"I didn't know that…you had gotten so worried about me. I didn't want that. Honestly, it wasn't something that I expected to happen." He huffed.

She frowned. "You didn't think anybody cared about you?"

He shrugged. "Not enough to worry, no."

She had fallen silent and her gaze slipped to her hands, which were clenched into fists in her lap. She didn't really know what to say to him now, and she let her eyes slip closed for a moment. It upset her, having him think that nobody cared all that much. But he knows he has good friends, why didn't he believe that they would worry about him? It didn't make any sense to her; nothing about Ichigo made sense to her anymore since he'd become an anti-social recluse.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "You really shouldn't think that way. You have your friends, your family. Why didn't you think that we would worry, even a little?"

Despair and total confusion crossed Ichigo's face. "I don't know. I really don't."

"Well, don't apologize for anything. I can understand that." This was all a lie but she didn't want to make him feel worse. "But please don't ever think that again."

Ichigo was silent for a few moments, a thoughtful expression on his face. That made her wonder what he was really thinking about. But the thing was…did she really need to know that?

Ichigo was lost in thought, still trying to absorb what Orihime said. And it was making him feel like a real idiot, believing that his friend's believed that he was just doing his own thing and that he was fine; not worried about him in any way. He should have expected this; they have all gone through a lot together. And then after his random wave of depression and becoming a recluse, he had actually thought that _nobody cared._ He was an idiot.

But what confused him more than anything is how much he was affecting Orihime. This made him feel horrible, because all of the pain he was feeling, Orihime seemed to catch onto it and start feeling similar pains to his of her own. He never wanted to inflict that kind of pain on anyone else. All he ever wanted was to protect everyone he cared about from pain.

_Everyone he cared about…_when it applied to Orihime it suddenly seemed to take on a whole new meaning. Which made him curious. He needed to know something.

"Just…" He had to think for a minute. "How much do you care? You seem to care more than anyone else."

Orihime stared at him for a full minute before she dropped her eyes. However, it looked like she might answer…she wasn't answering yet. But there may have been a reason for that. He didn't really know. He just waited patiently for her to say something.

After a minute, she looked up at him, a blank expression on her face. "I don't know what you mean."

Ichigo felt pure surprise. That was one of the first times that she didn't have a smile on her face, or any kind of joy, and she was totally lying about what he said. This was an Orihime he'd never seen before.

It just didn't make sense.


	5. Chapter 5

Orihime saw the confusion on Ichigo's face, and she knew that he knew she was lying. But she didn't want to answer that. She didn't feel ready. But lying wasn't the best option, but the truth might have been worse. After all, she was sure she wasn't anything more than just a friend or like a sister to Ichigo. She let her gaze drop again. After all, Rukia was the one that changed his world—not her. She never did _anything_ close enough to what Rukia did to affect him in any way at all. So she figured she wasn't _that_ important to him.

"Inoue?" Ichigo said, sounding a little upset, almost as if it was caused by the fact she wasn't answering.

She shrugged. "You're a friend. I worry about my friends, sometimes more than other people do. Is there a problem with that?"

Ichigo huffed. "Well…no…" His voice trailed off.

She just stared at him. He was seeing right through her, and she could tell, that's why she ended up in a way admitting she knew what he meant, but she didn't really tell him the truth, just to save her from pointless…hurt.

Ichigo's face became an unreadable mask. "I should probably get going. My dad might be wondering where I am, since I don't normally just disappear like this." He got up.

"Um, okay." Orihime got up and opened the door for him.

He hesitated in the door way for a split second. "Bye, Inoue." He walked out.

Orihime watched him go, then slowly closed the door tightly. Her breathing began to accelerate. Oh how she was beginning to wish she had told him the truth! She still had a tight grip on the door handle, and was on the verge of opening the door, she felt that he needed to know. But at the same time, she wondered if it would be a good idea to tell him. Because she was so torn, her hand fell from the door handle and she turned and walked away from the door.

Ichigo had just made up the dad excuse to get fresh air. His dad never knew where he was anyways, this was no different from before. Part of the reason he just really wanted out of there was because he knew with every fiber of his being that Orihime had lied to him. She wasn't a person to do that and she lied straight to his face. He felt anger surge inside him at that, but then he took a few deep breaths and calmed down. He was going to go home and eat lunch, and figure something out from there. That's all he could do.

Once he got home, he went straight into the kitchen, and made himself a sandwich which he ate quickly. There was a note on the counter saying that his dad and sisters had gone out for lunch and would be back soon. Ichigo knew he should be out of the house before they ever got back. So he quickly cleaned up his lunch and left the house, not really sure where he was going, all he knew is he was going somewhere, distancing himself from the house so he could think. He couldn't think about anything around people right now, so he had to isolate himself. But that was before someone came running into him, planting a hard kick into his stomach. Then he saw who it was as he stumbled backwards.

"Rukia what was that for?" He said, surprised.

She scowled at him, and placed her hands on her hips. "That's for not talking to anybody about anything. And for never coming out. I have to go back to Soul Society in a few months, and you don't even bother to try to come see me, or any of your friends for that matter."

He looked away. "Sorry."

"Apologizing is pointless, especially when it has no affect on me." She rolled her eyes. "Anyways, what is this problem of yours?"

Ichigo stepped forward and sighed. "Well I've been to see Orihime a couple of times…and something just feels different every time I've gone to see her."

"Explain. Now."

So he started to explain.

After Orihime had made herself some lunch, she went into the living room and read a book for a while. It kept her mind off of everything that had happened, which was probably good, as every time she had thought about it, it made her want to burst into tears, all because she didn't tell Ichigo the truth. So she was determined to distract herself, so that way, she wouldn't be sad all day long. And for the most part, it was working. She spent a lot of the afternoon, just sitting at her brothers picture, doing absolutely nothing, except remembering things that she always did with him. This was helping her to feel a lot better. It always seemed to, when she sat in front of her brother's picture, and did nothing else. It was almost as if he was present. A relaxing, comforting warmth spread through her, and she sat in that same spot the entire afternoon, in a daze like state. It seemed as if nothing would ever snap her out of it. Nobody banged on her door or anything, so when she realized how late it was getting, she took a shower and went to bed, still with that warmth and comfort inside of her.

When she woke up in the morning, she noticed she had rolled out of her bed, and had knocked all of her bedcovers off so she fixed them, changed into a good summer outfit, and went downstairs and made herself a really funky smelling bowl of oatmeal, and she had just thrown random ingredients in it, so who knows what she was eating. Once she did finish eating it though, she got a phone call, and it wasn't Tatski. It was Ichigo.

"Hello?" She sounded unsure of herself when she answered her phone.

"Hey, um, do you think you could meet me down at the park soon. I'd like to talk to you about…something." He sounded super nervous.

"Sure." Her spirits lifted. "See you soon."

"Bye, Orihime." He hung up.

As she put the phone down, she realized that Ichigo had called her by her first name. That was the first time she could remember him doing that. What could this mean?

Ichigo had immediately left for the park after calling Orihime. He wasn't sure how to go through with this. But he had to confirm what he thought he knew, and soon, now that Rukia helped him sort everything out. He walked quickly, he had a hoodie on and the hood pulled up so nobody knew it was him; but he had to take it off soon because he was already starting to overheat. He just had to get to the park first. He was a little annoyed that Rukia would be there. She told him he wouldn't be able to see her, but she would be watching, and that made him a little more nervous than necessary. It was also very annoying.

As he reached the park, he jerked the hoodie off, very nearly took his shirt off in the process, and flung it onto a tree branch and sat in the shade of that same tree. He wasn't sure when Orihime would should up, but he was pretty sure that she would show up soon. He was sure he wouldn't have to wait long, if he knew how Orihime was.

He was sitting there for maybe twenty minutes when he saw her looking for him. Something in his stomach twisted, and he very nearly felt like throwing up. His nerves were threatening to get the best of him. But he had to calm himself down.

"Orihime!" He called out, waving to her. "I'm over here."

She seemed a little puzzled at first, but then saw him, and started towards him, and to Ichigo, it seemed slow moving. But that gave him time to calm himself down and get collected. If he couldn't keep himself calm, then he wasn't going to be able to do this. But he _had_ to. Everything inside of him told him what Rukia had explained was true and he couldn't back out now. And if he did, Rukia would beat the crap out of him for it. He didn't really care for that either.

She was finally getting closer to him. He swallowed hard and continued waiting patiently.

Orihime was walking slower than she wanted to, mostly because she didn't want to seem like she was super excited or something. She wanted to keep her cool; remain collected. That was the way that seemed more normal; that's what she wanted to seem like in Ichigo's eyes. And if she could pull it off, that would make her really happy.

As she reached him, she sat down right in front of him. "Hi, Kurosaki-kun." It was a habit to call him Kurosaki-kun.

He smiled nervously. "You don't have to keep calling me that you know."

She started to get a little nervous. "Sorry…that's just what I'm used to calling you."

He smiled. "That's alright. Listen um…" He swallowed hard, and it was easy to tell he was having a hard time talking. It was strange, because this didn't seem like him. But she was going to be patient with him.

"Have you ever…you know…._liked_ somebody?" His face turned red and he looked down.

She tilted her head, having an air head moment. "I like lots of people."

His face got even redder ."That's not what I meant."

Then she understood. She stared at him for a long minute, confused by the direction of this conversation. It had taken an unexpected turn, and she wasn't sure how she was feeling about it yet. Maybe it just wasn't registering to her.

"Ummm….yes…." She finally said.

Ichigo seemed to take a _very_ long time before he said anything else. "So…do you see where this is going yet?"

Sadly, since she was Orihime after all, she really didn't. "Not really, no."

He sighed and looked her straight in the eyes. But he didn't say anything. Just stared into her eyes, with his soft, warm, brown ones, almost as if he was waiting for her to catch on. She just stared back, almost in a paralysis as she was mesmerized by his warm brown eyes. She didn't even realize that she had frozen up until Ichigo touched her shoulder. She jumped and blinked and shook her head to clear it. She wasn't entirely sure why she suddenly spaced out so much.

"Well…" He sighed. "I'm not really sure how to phrase anything. I'm new to this whole…er _thing_ and I'm just trying to find…words…"

Orihime's heart started pounding. She was beginning to understand what he was talking about. Those words he just spoke for some strange reason made it click for her. Everything was falling into place now and suddenly this entire conversation was making sense. At first, she didn't say anything, just waited to see if Ichigo could find the words he wanted to say, but when it was becoming apparent that he couldn't, she knew it was her time to speak up.

"When you asked me if I ever liked anyone….and I said yes." She took in a deep breath. "I was talking about you."

She felt heat rush to her face when Ichigo just stared at her. It was getting a little awkward because he just stared at her for quite some time and didn't say a word. He was caught off guard and was stunned into silence, and kinda frozen, eventually though he managed to blink and sit back a little, with this odd expression of wonder on his face. She had no idea why that was on his face, but she didn't care. She was just glad that she finally got her feelings for him out in the open. At least, the way she could describe them in a bare minimum.

"I see." A smile slowly spread across his face. "I see."

She tilted her confusion. "Eh?"

But before she could say anything else, Ichigo leaned forward….

And that's when he kissed her.


	6. Chapter 6

Well, this was definitely _not_ what Orihime was expecting. She didn't know how to react, she'd never been kissed before. So she kind of sat there, not really sure what to do until he slowly backed away. She wasn't sure what he'd think about her lack of response to it, but that's because she really just didn't know _how_ to kiss somebody. But there was something inside of her rejoicing-Ichigo had feelings for her. Secretly she wanted that, but the want for him to be happy always overrode that selfish desire. But maybe she could satisfy both now.

"Um…thank you?" She sounded unsure, mostly because she wasn't sure if that is what she was supposed to say.

He laughed, a real genuine laugh. "You're welcome…?"

Orihime laughed as well; she was happy to see him laughing and smiling again. As long as he was happy, then she _could_ allow her selfish desire to be satisfied. She never liked to be selfish, so this indulgence was a little odd. But she didn't really care for the moment.

"So…how long have you liked me?" Ichigo asked.

"Uhhhhh…" Her face heated up and turned bright red. "I dunno."

He smiled. "I see."

"I didn't know that you liked me." She blurted out. "I thought I was like a sister or just a friend to you."

His smile wavered only slightly. "I wasn't really entirely sure what I was feeling. But I know for sure now."

Warmth and excitement exploded through Orihime. This made her feel like she was floating. She had never felt like this before. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world. There were a ton of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. Then she realized that he was staring at her. She felt her face heat up and she stared at the ground. She didn't know what to say. She heard Ichigo snort, but she still didn't look up. She was still too nervous. Then she felt a hand under a chin and she was forced to look up.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Yes….I'm just…" She pulled her head free and looked back down again.

He laughed. "I know what you me—ow!"

Orihime looked up, to see Ichigo rubbing the back of his head and he turned around. Rukia was standing there with her hands on her hips. Orihime wondered, how long has she been there? If she was there the entire time….she felt her face heat up. But neither Ichigo, nor Rukia seemed to notice that.

"What did I do wrong?" Ichigo snapped.

"You're supposed to make her feel better—not do what it is you just did!" Rukia snapped back.

"You're not in control! I was handling it!" He growled, standing up.

"You weren't…" Rukia saw Orihime staring. "Was he handling it?"

"Yes…just fine." How else was she supposed to answer without getting Ichigo getting beat up some more.

"See….I _told_ you!" Ichigo snapped.

Rukia scowled, but didn't seem to argue with him any further. Ichigo had gotten closer to her, and they were talking in low voices, so Orihime couldn't hear what they were saying. So while she waited for them to stop talking, she wondered, is this something him and Rukia plotted? It had seemed so genuine. But maybe it was…and Ichigo just didn't know what he was doing. Either way…she didn't know what was going on.

Ichigo was glaring at Rukia. He hadn't needed her to butt in, he had _everything _under control. He thought that she probably messed it up for him. So he hadn't known what he was doing right at first, but he had a good sense of what he was doing, and then Rukia swooped in. He was pretty pissed at her.

"You probably messed everything up for me." He hissed at her, glancing over his shoulder to see if Orihime was still there. She was. Good.

"I was trying to help, it seemed like you were screwing up." She snapped back.

"I didn't need your help!"

Rukia fell silent, her arms crossed, glaring at him. He just glared right back, annoyed with her just being there now. If she hadn't interfered then he probably would've gotten a better handle on what he was doing. Now it was all just screwed up.

"I'm going to leave now. And go talk to Orihime, _without you watching me._" He growled and turned around and held out a hand to Orihime. "Sorry about that. Let's go somewhere else."

Orihime seemed a little confused for a minute, and just stared, but he just waited patiently. She finally took his hand and he helped her to her feet. Then he lead her away from the park and cast one more glare over at Rukia.

"Do _not_ follow us." He growled, then kept walking, not entirely sure where he was going.

After a few minutes, Orihime asked. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know." He sounded frustrated.

"We can go to my apartment if you want. We're going in that direction."

"Okay."

They walked in silence, which gave him a little bit of time so he could silently fume and cool off. He was still pretty pissed at Rukia, considering she also told him she wouldn't interfere unless it was a _major_ screw up. He hardly could call what he did even a _minor_ screw up! Rukia had a poor sense of judgment. He clearly couldn't take anything she said about not doing something while helping him seriously. She would only end up interfering even if she said she wouldn't.

When they reached the apartment, Orihime unlocked the door and they went inside, and then she locked the door. Nobody _unwanted_ would be getting in if they randomly showed up. They went and sat on the couch in the living room. They sat in silence for a few minutes, mostly listening for a knock, because Ichigo thought that Rukia followed them even though he specifically told her not to. But after waiting and not hearing it, Ichigo visibly relaxed.

Orihime looked at him. "What did you want to talk about?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry about Rukia…she just thinks I'm going to mess _everything _up."

Orihime smiled. "It's alright."

That's one of the things he really liked about Orihime. She was understanding.


	7. Chapter 7

Orihime felt a little better now, knowing that it wasn't a set up by Rukia; she was just helping him out. However, her interceding on his behalf clearly wasn't something Ichigo wasn't expecting.

"I didn't really want to talk about anything in particular, I just wanted to talk _without_ being under the constant watch of somebody." He rolled his eyes.

She smiled. "Of course. I didn't really understand why Rukia interrupted really."

He shrugged. "That's just Rukia. If you end up having Tatski bombard you, that's Rukia's fault."

She laughed. "Tatski isn't one to suddenly just bombard somebody. She may bring it up whenever I see her next."

"I see." He sighed. "I don't really think it's a good idea for a lot of people to know yet. Especially my dad. If Rukia makes good on her promise though, nobody should know unless we say something."

Orihime didn't see the point of keeping it from everybody, but Ichigo clearly had a reason for it, and she wasn't going to question that. "When will we tell people?"

He shrugged. "I don't know yet. Tomorrow, Chad said that he had a picnic planned or something at the park. So we could go to that…just not make it public knowledge yet."

"Who's all going to be down there?"

"Ishda I believe, Rukia, Renji because Rukia said he'll be here for a while to help her...not entirely sure why. Probably because of me. Tatski I know will be there. I think that's it. It isn't supposed to be much of a big thing."

"Why don't you want it to be public yet?"

"I…just not ready. It's a little early you know."

Orihime nodded, but felt a little sad. She knew what he meant by this. He didn't want anyone to know, just in case it didn't last long, or ended badly because people know about it from the get go. She could understand this, but it didn't mean she didn't like it. Somebody suddenly banged on the door, which made them both jump. Orihime peeked out her front window, noticing Rukia and Renji. She frowned, why were they here?

"It's Rukia and Renji." She frowned.

"That's weird." Ichigo frowned as well.

"Should I answer it?"

"If they're here, it might be important."

She nodded and went to open the door. When she opened the door, she noticed they both wore serious expressions. She stepped to the side, using body language to tell them to come in, which they both did, then she closed the door and went into the living room and sat next to Ichigo again.

"What's going on?" Ichigo asked.

"Soul Society is getting frustrated with your lack of responding to Hollow activity. That's why they sent me, to help out. But, they are getting really angry that you have yet to do your job. If you don't keep it up, they are going to take you in to 'talk' some sense into you. Probably means Kenpachi is going to fight you." Renji said, sounding annoyed, he sat down in a chair.

Rukia sat in the other chair, but didn't say anything. She just stared at her hands in her lap, the expression on her face said something else was up, she just wasn't saying anything. But Ichigo was looking at Renji.

"Sorry." Ichigo said. "I just didn't…have any motivation."

"You're lucky Rukia was here then too!" Renji snapped at him. "She did the task you were supposed to be doing. Now I'm here, for an undisclosed amount of time. Probably until you get off your butt and start doing your job again."

Orihime noticed the despair on Rukia's face, and this made her want to know what was going on in her head. But she didn't want to ask now, clearly she wasn't talking about it for a reason. Everybody had a reason for keeping secrets, is something Orihime always told herself. If the reason was something ridiculous, she accepted it; a reason is a reason, and that's that. Ichigo was now glaring at Renji, angry that Renji was putting so much blame on him, as if he was trying to make Ichigo feel guilty. That's probably his whole point.

"I'm going to get on it. You don't need to guilt trip me, pineapple head." Ichigo snapped.

Renji scowled at him. "You better get on it _fast_, strawberry."

It looked like they were both going to bust a vein in their foreheads. If it didn't cool down, they'd probably start a fight. Rukia just didn't seem to care, and Orihime didn't know how to stop them. Those two never got along very well, and everybody knew that.

Ichigo suddenly seemed to back off. "We shouldn't be fighting. Has there been increasing activity?"

Renji stared at him. "You really are an idiot. There has been _rapidly_ increasing activity. You haven't noticed?"

"I picked up on something." He frowned. "I just didn't realize how many were appearing."

"Something has been _calling_ them here. It seems like they gather in one spot for a long time, then scatter all over Karakura, and they haven't really been eating people as much as they've been looking for specific people to kill. Rukia told me they stopped here multiple times, and then at Chad's a few times too."

"Where do they gather?"

"The location always changes. Usually there's a huge influx of them that gather in one spot, then suddenly scatter. We can never exactly pinpoint where. We've been watching it in Soul Society."

"Somebody is behind this then." He said.

"Obviously. But they hide their reitsu within the Hollow's and once they scatter, it's only there for an instant and then it's gone."

"We'll find this. Before somebody gets hurt." Ichigo's eyes flickered to Orihime for the briefest moment, then went back to Renji.

"It's going to be difficult. You know that right? If we can't solve this on our own, more representatives are going to come from Soul Society."

"We have to keep in contact with them. Just update them."

"Exactly. But thing is, we have to keep a good eye on Orihime and Chad, see if they want them dead, or what they want with them."

"That shouldn't be too hard."

Renji sighed, and got up. "We should probably go tell Chad." Rukia nodded in agreement, and they got up. Renji looked at Ichigo. "You'll update your dad right?"

It had become public knowledge that Isshin was once a a Soul Society captain. Now that he had is powers again, he had every right to get updated about issues in Karakura town.

"Yeah I will." Ichigo sounded frustrated.

Renji nodded and him and Rukia left. Ichigo and Orihime sat there in silence, Orihime was a little confused about what exactly was going on. But, if it was bad, what could this mean for them and their friends?


	8. Chapter 8

Ichigo sighed in frustration; major issues always seemed to spring up out of nowhere, whenever something good happened for him. But that was his life was since he'd become a Soul Reaper. It was something he had learned that he'd have to deal with. But he didn't think that something that was a direct threat to Chad and Orihime. He knew that he had to stop it. Not by himself; that couldn't be done. Every time he tried to do something by himself, it never turned out the way he wanted and he usually ended up in a really bad position. He had to go tell his dad as soon as possible, but he couldn't leave Orihime alone. Not that he ever intended to do that, but what was he going to do about nighttime, when he couldn't be here to make sure that she was safe? Who was going to keep Chad safe? He had to discuss this with his dad, and with Renji once he got the chance. He stood up and turned to face Orihime.

"I need to go talk to my dad. Come with me? I can't let you stay alone." Ichigo said.

Orihime nodded. "Of course." She got up.

They walked outside, heading for Ichigo's house. Ichigo walked with his hands in his pockets, and Orihime just had her arms folded, for no particular reason. They were walking in silence, there wasn't much for either one of them to say. Ichigo had a look of frustration on his face as he walked, Orihime strangely enough looked at peace with the world. It was as if nothing was wrong, or nothing bad was happening. Ichigo didn't understand how she managed to do that. He couldn't figure out how she managed to be so happy or peaceful all the time in a bad situation. He couldn't even see much of a bright side to this at the moment, but then again he usually never could.

Orihime didn't feel alarmed, despite being in danger of Hollow's attacking her. It was really weird, she thought that maybe she would be scared, or sad, but instead she was feeling like her normal self. She was enjoying being in Ichigo's presence, which probably explained why she just _couldn't_ feel scared. She knew he would protect her, and find a way with Chad, and that was probably why she just felt so peaceful and relaxed. There wasn't a lot that could shake her out of this mood, while she was with Ichigo.

They reached Ichigo's house after about ten minutes of silent walking. The silence was a comfortable silence, one that was very rare, but it did occur. Ichigo looked inside, to make sure his family was home, then gestured at Orihime to come inside. She hesitated; she had never met his family before, but then went inside. It was a tidy house, the living room off to the side was a little messier, with magazines on the couch and floor but the kitchen and dining room were tidier. It seemed Ichigo's sister's were nowhere in sight, but Ichigo's dad was in the kitchen, talking to someone on the phone. Orihime stood near the door, while Ichigo approached his dad. His dad hung the phone up quickly, and then they began talking, while Orihime was just standing there. This did involve her, but she didn't feel like being involved in the conversation. Ichigo gestured at her several times while talking then looked at her.

"You can sit down if you want." He said.

"Okay." She smiled.

Ichigo turned back to his dad while Orihime went and sat down on the fairly worn, but still nice looking, couch. She stared at the window, watching the trees sway in the wind, some of the leaves actually being blown off. The trees were still a healthy green, but some of them were starting the process of losing leaves, as it got closer to fall. Orihime wasn't sure why she was thinking about this, but it was either that, or dwell on the current situation. So she kept thinking about trees. She liked it when the leaves were red and orange, especially a blend of the shades. Once the leaves were gone, leaving the trees barren, she didn't like that because the trees then lost their beauty. She kept staring out the window, thinking about trees, when she felt someone touch her and she jumped.

"What were you thinking so deeply about?" Ichigo said.

Orihime looked up at him. "Trees."

He raised an eyebrow. "Trees?"

"Yes, trees."

He snorted. "Okay then." He turned so she could see Ichigo's dad. "This is my dad Isshin. Dad, this Orihime. The girl I was telling you about."

Isshin had this stupid grin on his face but he just waved. Ichigo saw that and scowled at him, making a gesture at him to go away. He sighed and disappeared back into the kitchen. He then turned to look at Orihime.

"We still have to figure out what to do about keeping an eye on Chad but, what we have decided, is that you'll just keep staying at your house, and there's probably going to be somebody watching your apartment at night. It won't always be me, but I'll talk to Rukia, and possibly Renji, see who's up to doing what, and until this situation is settled you and Chad will have a Soul Reaper keeping an eye out for you at all times." Ichigo was dead serious when he said this.

Orihime nodded. "I see."

"Alright." He checked the time. "If you want, you can stay here for dinner if you'd like."

Orihime realized that she had never bothered to eat lunch. So she was really hungry. "Sure, thank you." She said, smiling.

Ichigo nodded. "Let me go talk to my dad. See when my sister's are going to get home."

She nodded and he disappeared into the kitchen. Orihime had seen Ichigo's sister's around before, but she never really had a chance to meet them. She wasn't sure if she was nervous, or excited. She was meeting them just due to odd circumstances, but she still didn't know how she was feeling. His dad was a little strange, but she found that to be something she liked. Orihime didn't know what his sister's were like, and she would probably find out, if she met them tonight.

Ichigo was annoyed at his dad. He already knew what he'd say to letting Orihime stay for dinner, and he was overreacting, as he expected. He was still annoyed though. At least Karin will have more of a normal person reaction once her and Yuzu got back. But, according to his dad, they should've been home around the same time him and Orihime got here. So, where were they? His dad was more worried than normal as well, now that he was aware of the Hollow situation. Ichigo was about ready to go look for them, worried that something had happened, when the front door banged open, and both girls came in, and they both looked exhausted. They both saw Orihime, waved, then went upstairs, apparently they both had been running home and were tired. This irritated Ichigo. What made them run home?

He went to the front door and looked out. He sensed something…off but it wasn't anywhere near his house. He closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to locate exactly where it was, and after a minute he finally figured it out. It was inbetween Chad, and Orihime's places. And there was a concentration of them. He hissed angrily and just about ran outside, when he picked up on Rukia and Renji's reitsu. He stayed in the door. What was he supposed to do, go help them, or stay with Orihime? He guessed the latter, so he slowly closed the door. They would probably take care of it, so he had no need to worry much about it. He slowly closed the door, took in a deep breath, then went and sat next to Orihime, who was frowning. He knew she was picking up on it too, but he didn't know how strongly. He watched her face for a moment, then saw horror alight in her eyes.

"They're…going to my apartment. They don't know I'm not there." She whispered.

"It's a good thing that you're here then." He said.

"They split up…making it difficult…" She frowned. "I can't really tell."

Ichigo sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

"I mean, I can't find Chad's reitsu anywhere."

Ichigo went rigid, and his body filled with ice. Was Chad captured…? He didn't know, but he was going to have to do something, and fast.


	9. Chapter 9

Orihime saw the rage clearly on Ichigo's face. He slowly rose to his feet, and pulled this weird badge thing out with skull and crossbones on it and stared at it, twirling it in his fingers, he looked at Orihime. It was as if he was torn between going out and helping, or staying and protecting her. She could tell he had no idea what he should do. He was about ready to shove it against his forehead, but then his father suddenly appeared, covering the badge with his hand.

"Let the others take care of it." Isshin told him. "The best thing you can do now is stay here and protect her and your sisters. I can go. Check on your sisters, please." He slammed Ichigo's badge against his forehead, his body slumped to the floor and he disappeared out the door. Ichigo watched him go and shoved his badge back into his pocket.

"I need to see what's up with my sisters. I'll be back." He sounded frustrated and went upstairs before Orihime could say anything to him. She watched him go upstairs, his shoulders stiff with tension. She instantly knew that he was annoyed that he wasn't able to go after Chad himself. But at the same time, shouldn't he be glad? He can directly protect his sisters and not have to worry about them. She didn't really lump herself in with why he stayed here, although she knew deep down that she was the reason he was so torn. It didn't matter now; his dad was going to check things out. But, wasn't Isshin as capable of protecting them as well as Ichigo? Then she realized; Isshin was making it easier for Ichigo and taking on the responsibility that his son was supposed to be fulfilling. Orihime wasn't sure if she was glad Ichigo was directly protecting her and his sisters, or if she was feeling guilty for making him stay here. She was going to apologize to him when he came back downstairs. She wasn't sure when he would come back down, as he was probably consoling his sisters, but she knew how to wait patiently. She played with her hair, braiding it and unbraiding it, it kept her fingers busy, and if she focused hard enough it kept her mind busy as well.

Ichigo came downstairs after a while. Orihime lost track of how long he was upstairs, but she didn't care, she was still just playing with her hair. She was easily entertained, and that was good for situations like this.

Ichigo sat next to Orihime. "My sisters were freaked, but they're fine now. I told them to stay upstairs. They'll panic if they see that." He pointed at Isshin's body just lying on the floor.

"I see." She said.

Frustration crossed Ichigo's face again, and he put his head in his hands, and fell silent. Orihime didn't like seeing him like that, but she didn't really know how to cheer him up. She had a cheery demeanor herself, but she didn't know what to do for Ichigo right now. She felt useless, and it was threatening to bring her down, but she wouldn't let it. She raised her hand up, hesitated, then touched Ichigo's shoulder. He looked at her.

"It's going to be fine." She said. "You don't need to worry so much."

He let out a huge puff of air. "You're right…I just worry about what may happen if they've gotten to Chad….and if they come after you again."

Orihime managed to smile, despite the serious expression Ichigo was wearing. "Do you really have to think about _all_ of it right now?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I just don't know what else to think about, until we know Chad is safe."

She hated it when he was making himself all worried and totally focused on one thing. She couldn't get his mind off of it. She thought it might be better to leave, except, that may only make things worse, considering that she was a target. She sighed.

Ichigo's thoughts were in chaos, he wasn't sure if letting his dad go was the right thing. But wasn't his duty to protect those closest to him…like his sisters…and Orihime? He was still trying to decide if maybe he could go after his dad, send him back, and look for Chad himself. He felt Orihime's eyes on him again and he looked at her. The worry on her face was obviously there, and very real. She hadn't removed her hand from his shoulder, and he was comfortable with her hand on him. He was becoming more used to her, and he was becoming less defensive…less tense…everything was changing again. Getting better.

"Ichigo, I'm sure your dad will handle it." She said, with such confidence, as if she _knew_ everything would be alright.

Ichigo felt reassured, with was surprising, as he usually just blocked most people out when he got into a mood like this. He felt his all the tense muscles in his body relaxing. He was feeling better for the most part, although he wasn't sure what he felt about leaving Orihime alone at her house, but it was the only thing he could do. He had to convince himself that she would be safe there, with someone watching over her, even if it wasn't him.

He stared at her for a long minute, and then slowly smiled. "Thanks Orihime. I worry a little much…" He trailed off, not really sure what else to say.

She shrugged. "It's not good to worry so much. I think you'll eventually worry yourself sick."

Did that actually happen? He wasn't sure, and he didn't really care to find out. He let his eyes drift off to the side, trying to keep more worry off of his face. He was worried about Chad….but he was more worried about Orihime. He didn't understand the feelings he was feeling so strongly, it seemed _way_ too early in their relationship. He didn't understand how they worked though, so he figured it didn't matter.

Orihime noticed his eyes stray away, and he'd gotten this thoughtful look on his face. She wasn't sure what he was thinking about, but she slowly retracted her hand, and dropped it back into her lap. He didn't seem to notice, he was still wrapped up in his own thoughts. She just watched his face, and waited for him to say something. She was happy that he seemed to be more relaxed, the tense set to his shoulders had disappeared, and he just seemed a lot more relaxed, all the tension had gone from his face as well. This made her smile as well. She was so happy to see him finally starting to get out of his slump. Now she hoped he would stay this way.


	10. Chapter 10

Orihime began to wonder when she could actually go home, she really just wanted to curl up on her own bed, she was getting a little tired. She wasn't sure why she was already tired; she just was. She seemed to have lost her appetite and now she just wanted to sleep. Ichigo's eyes fixed on her again right as she yawned.

"You tired? Aren't you hungry?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Not really hungry as much as tired."

"I can walk you home if you'd like me to." He was watching her face. "Once my dad gets back."

She nodded gratefully; she just wanted to sleep rather than eat anything. That's just how she was feeling at the moment. She yawned again, involuntarily, and stretched her arms. She wondered when Ichigo's dad would come back. Ichigo's sisters probably wouldn't stay upstairs for a whole lot longer. Ichigo seemed to already know that, because he had gotten up and went to the front window and was watching for his dad anxiously. Orihime just watched him for a minute, then looked down. Not too long after she looked down, the front door suddenly banged open, and she jumped. Her head whipped up and it was Isshin who had come banging into the room. He had blood down the front of his outfit, but he didn't seem to have sustained any injuries himself. That was a relief.

"Is Chad alright?" Ichigo asked in an urgent voice.

"He's fine. He was holding his own when I got there, but if I hadn't gotten there when I did, he would have been overwhelmed. Renji's with him right now." Isshin said, falling back into his body.

"Good." Ichigo relaxed. "I have to take Orihime home, she's tired. Could you contact Rukia and send her over?"

Isshin sat up and nodded as he got to his feet. Without another word, he disappeared upstairs. Ichigo sighed and opened the front door and Orihime walked out, followed by Ichigo who closed the door behind them.

Ichigo wasn't sure about leaving Orihime at her home. He kept telling himself that she would be safe because Rukia would be there, but he wasn't convincing himself too easily. He couldn't be there himself though, because he had to go out on a patrol tonight, that way Soul Society wouldn't get on about him again about slacking off. He was going to get irritated if they got after him again because he was slacking. He wasn't slacking today, he was just protecting those that mattered the most to him, at least as most of those as he could. He felt like he had failed Chad…but he shook that off. He couldn't be thinking like that.

Orihime didn't seem to notice that he was lost in his thoughts, as she seemed to be lost in her own as they were walking. There was no awkwardness to the silence, they were both just walking, enjoying each other's company was enough.

The reached Orihime's place pretty quickly and stayed outside on her porch. Ichigo wasn't willing to leave, not until Rukia got there. He didn't want Orihime to be alone, for even a second.

"Rukia's gonna be here tonight, so you won't be alone." He said, breaking the silence.

Orihime smiled. "Okay."

"Then I'll be here tomorrow to pick you up for the picnic."

Orihime frowned. "Won't that make it pretty obvious that we're together then?"

He no longer cared about that. "It doesn't really matter now. What matters to me now, is keeping you safe. I don't want you to get hurt, and if you got hurt because of me being stupid and stubborn I'd never be able to forgive myself. So it won't matter what the others think."

She blinked and then nodded. "That makes sense. But don't guilt trip yourself if I do get hurt, it's not going to be your fault Ichigo. Not everything is your fault."

He had heard something like that before, but it never seemed to work on him. He didn't want to upset her though. "I know that. I'll keep that in mind."

"Okay. Good." She smiled.

Rukia suddenly appeared, having used Flash Step, in her Soul Reaper uniform, her hand resting on her blades handle. Orihime had jumped, because this had startled her. This just annoyed Ichigo.

"You don't have to just appear like that you know." He scowled.

"It's faster. And if you don't like it, too bad. You can't tell me how to get myself around." She snapped back at him.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I have to go." His eyes drifted to Orihime. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Orihime smiled at him as he left.

After Ichigo was gone, she fumbled under her doormat for her key. Once she found it, she unlocked the door and went inside, leaving the door open for Rukia. Rukia came in, and kicked the door shut behind her. Orihime was now actually pretty hungry, and went to go put a sandwich together, not really paying attention to what she was throwing on it. She started eating it, and was spacing out, so she didn't really notice that she put ham and peanut butter and cherries on it. She always made really really _weird_ food, and hardly ever noticed how bad it tasted. Rukia was sitting in the living room, silent, until Orihime joined her, sitting in the chair, opposite of her couch.

"What's going on with you and Ichigo? One minute, you have no idea because he doesn't tell you anything, and the next he walks you home and waits for me to get there." Rukia blurted out.

Orihime flushed red and wasn't sure what to say. "He was being polite."

"I know how Ichigo is. He would've left right off if he was being his normal self, because he typically doesn't understand that it's not nice to leave a girl waiting for someone alone. Yet, now he seems to realize that." Rukia raised an eyebrow.

"He was just being a good friend." She already knew that Rukia didn't believe it was just that.

"Sure he was." Rukia snorted. "That's not how Ichigo is. He may want to protect you, yes, but he would have left knowing that you would've been safe with me. He probably knew that he didn't need to stand with you and wait, which means he wanted to. What are you not telling me Orihime?"

"It's nothing, really." She mumbled, her face getting hotter. "He was being nice, and knew it wouldn't be a good idea to leave me to wait for you alone."

"Cut that crap out already."

Orihime stood up abruptly. "I'm going to get cleaned up and ready for bed." She rushed out of the room before Rukia could say anything. She already knew Ichigo didn't care about anyone knowing anymore, so why was she fighting so hard to keep Rukia from knowing? She didn't understand it herself, so she just thought about other things as she went into the bathroom to shower.


	11. Chapter 11

Ichigo had just gotten home, eaten dinner, and know he was on his patrol, looking for Hollows, while keeping tabs on the reitsu of Orihime and his other friends, and his family. He was sitting on an abandoned roof top, just sitting there, when Rukia suddenly appeared right next to him. He glared at her.

"Aren't you supposed to be at Orihime's?" He turned away, watching the sun set.

"Renji is there now, and my brother is at Chad's. He showed up, ordered me to help you with patrols and stationed Renji at Orihime's and himself at Chad's." Rukia said. "Which gives me the chance to ask you since Orihime wouldn't tell me. What's going on between you two?"

"You should know, you helped me ask her out." He spat.

"I know. But it's like…accelerated. I thought it'd be just some small, brief, take it slow thing." Rukia sounded frustrated. "It seems like things are more than I thought they'd be. You've had feelings for her for a long time haven't you?"

He glared at her. "I don't know Rukia okay? I've never felt this way about _anyone_ before, so I don't know how long it's been there. But when I'm with her…it's like…" He was having a hard time finding words. "It's as if there are no problems in my life. Like they're non existant. With her, I can feel happy again, almost as happy as I was before my mom died. Nobody has made me feel like that before. Orihime has never had that effect before but then suddenly…" He shrugged. "It all changed."

Rukia's eyes widened. "You talk as if you're in l-"

Ichigo slapped a hand over her mouth. "Don't say that word! We haven't been together long enough for that word to apply yet!"

Rukia yanked his hand off of her mouth. "It doesn't work the way you think it does Ichigo. I know that better than you. The way you talk about your feelings like that, that's where I got the idea."

Ichigo looked away again, watching the sun setting further down into the horizon. He didn't know how to answer anything about l-_that_ word. He wasn't sure if it was true or not. But he didn't know how to identify it, and he didn't know how Rukia would know that either. But he didn't know much of anything about how Rukia would know things like that.

"Ichigo, describe to me how you feel about Orihime." She suddenly asked.

He looked at her and took a huge breath, and let it out slowly and then started speaking. "When I'm with her, everything vanishes, and I feel warm, like she's radiant like a sun. I feel like I don't have to worry, because just being around her makes everything feel okay. I also feel like I have to do everything for her to keep her happy, because it hurts to see her upset. And…and…." He frowned, thinking for a minute. "And I get nervous when I'm around her, my heart starts pounding, and sometimes I start shaking a little bit. Like I am right now." He held a hand up, and sure enough, it was shaking a little. "She makes me want to be around her all the time, and the thought of anybody hurting her, makes me want to beat the crap out of them, like she's my own sister. She's that important to me Rukia, she's as important to me as my family."

Rukia stared at him for a long time. The sun had gone down by this time, and it was fairly dark by the time she was actually able to say anything. "Ichigo. You really are in l.."

He slapped a hand on her mouth. "Don't say that word again!"

She ripped his hand away. "It's true and you know it's true."

He scowled at her. "I don't feel comfortable with that word yet. Don't go there with that word until I'm more comfortable."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." She said. "I've just never seen you get like this about someone."

"I know." He stared up at the stars. "It was the very last thing I was expecting too."

"That's how l-" She stopped herself and changed the wording. "That's how those feelings work. They don't let you chose who or when they happen. Once it's picked who and when, you can't change it. Then you're wondering how it happened, but then you'll stop caring. It'll be the best thing that's ever happened to you, trust me on that."

Ichigo smiled; she sounded like she knew based from experience. He wouldn't call her out on that though. "I understand what you mean, Rukia."

"Thank goodness. I've tried explaining this to Renji once and he stared at me like I just spoke some foreign language." Rukia laughed.

Ichigo laughed as well. "I'm surprised I understood."

Rukia sighed and whispered something so softly, Ichigo thought he imagined it. "I'm not because you've changed."

He didn't respond to that, mostly because he wasn't entirely sure if he actually heard that, or if he had just heard something. It wouldn't make much sense if Rukia said it, but it didn't matter all that much. He stood up, wishing he could go to Orihime's himself, but knowing he's probably get in serious trouble if he didn't do what he was told to do, especially now that there is a Captain in town.

Rukia jumped to her feet. "Group of Hollows headed for…your house?" She sounded confused but Ichigo was already moving the very second she said that.

He didn't take too long to reach his house, and Rukia was there shortly after him, but by then, there was no Hollow activity. But he knew where they were going and he started running, along with Rukia.

"Where are we going now?" She asked.

"Orihime's place. That's where they're all headed. And I don't know if Renji can handle them all himself."


	12. Chapter 12

Orihime had been getting ready for bed, when she heard a low growling sound outside of her home. She froze up in her bedroom, pulled her shirt back down, and peeked out the window, and then quickly backed away. Hollows were gathering at her home, and there were a lot of them. Renji had looked overwhelmed, and Orihime knew that she couldn't do anything to help much, so she just had to hope that there was helping coming for him. She stayed away from the window, though she knew that wouldn't be much help, and stood pressed against the wall, shaking slightly. She was afraid, all of the Hollows there were after her for some reason, and somebody they couldn't find was behind it. What she didn't understand was what did this person want?

She heard a high pitched shriek and it hurt her head. She slid to her knees, and put her hands over her ears, and the noise continued to get louder, increasing in pitch too. Her head throbbed and she was close to blacking out when the noise cut off. She rushed to the window, and noticed Ichigo and Rukia had showed up. Then she backed away again, hating looking at all of those Hollows against those three. She knew they'd be able to handle it, but she didn't like seeing them so outnumbered regardless. Then suddenly she heard her front door open, and slam shut and alarmed shouts. That meant someone was inside that wasn't welcome inside. Her body went ice cold and she slid her closet door open, then hid inside and slammed it closed. She heard the door open and slam shut again, and angry voices. She heard her bedroom door open, and she was frozen inside her closet, her hands clasped over her mouth. She began to realize that she didn't recognize either voice, and their reitsu was hard to read. They must have been repressing it on purpose. But then there was a ruckus of other people coming inside and their pressure disappeared entirely.

Orihime placed a shaking hand on the closet door, but didn't open it. She didn't want to come out, she was scared. But then the door slid open, and she cringed away, only to realize that it was Renji.

"Found her." He said, and then frowned. "You okay?"

She shrugged, and didn't answer. Renji frowned and turned to look another direction. "Ichigo, I found her, but she doesn't look too…stable."

"I'm fine." She finally said, although any of her normal demeanor was completely gone, replaced by utter fear. "Really, I just got a little…scared."

Ichigo came into the room, Zangetsu already wrapped back up on his back. He frowned when he saw her crouched in the closet. She just stared at him for a moment, then turned her eyes away, staring at her feet, trying to gather herself together and calm down, so he wouldn't see her too upset. That was the last thing she wanted.

"Orihime." He said, and she noticed Renji had left the room, and closed the door.

"I'm fine." She tried to smile but it wasn't even good enough to fool Ichigo.

"No, you're not." He said, crouching down. "You're upset. I can tell."

She shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know."

He sighed and looked her squarely in the eyes. "Renji went to go get my body for me. I'm staying here with you tonight. And don't you tell me that I don't need to, because I'm going to anyways."

She opened her mouth, planning to protest, and then snapped it shut when she could tell that he wasn't going to change his mind. So she sat there and Ichigo sighed and left the room, probably to go check things out. That gave Orihime time to let some tears escape and to calm herself down. She was shaking badly, as she was terrified for everybody she knew. It wasn't just her and Chad that were in danger. It was pretty much everybody, despite Chad and her being the main targets. She hated this, she hated having to rely on Ichigo _yet again_, and she felt totally useless. But she wasn't going to say anything about it; she knew that would make Ichigo feel bad. And he was doing so much for her as it was. She sighed and continued sitting where she was, until Ichigo came back.

Once Ichigo came back, she crawled out of the closet. She tried to stand up, but her legs cramped up and stiff so she had a problem standing up. Ichigo helped her stand up, and then let her go, but she began swaying back and forth, very nearly falling over, so he wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her standing up and guided her out to the living room and helped her sit down on the couch. She didn't know what to say to him, and he wasn't saying anything either. They just sat on the couch silently. That is, until Renji and Rukia came in the room. Orihime didn't say anything, she was out of words.

"They're going to be sending reinforcements from Soul Society soon, if they can't figure out what the heck is going on from there." Renji leaned against the wall, with his arms crossed.

"Don't they have any way to pin point the person when their reitsu is visible for that split second?" Ichigo sounded frustrated.

Renji shook his head. "No, because they can't analyze it fast enough. They suspect Arrancar activity, due to the reitsu blending into the Hollow's so easily."

Orihime's heart sank. Last time they had the Arrancar problem…She didn't let her thought finish because she didn't want to dwell on what had happened last time. She didn't speak, but her entire body tensed up.

Ichigo sighed, annoyed. "That's helpful!"

Renji looked just as annoyed. "I wish we could do something that was more helpful. But we can't."

Ichigo looked like he might punch the wall or something. "We need to find this thing _fast_. We can't let anybody get hurt."

"That's what the reinforcements are for." Renji spat at him.

"This isn't productive." Rukia piped up. "We should probably go hunt this thing down soon."

Orihime didn't comment, but jumped when there was a knock at the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Nobody seemed to move at the sound of the knock. Orihime was actually a little too scared to move. Ichigo suddenly sighed and moved to open the door.

"Oh, hey Chad." Ichigo said and he stepped back so Chad could come inside. Orihime was relieved that it was Chad; she didn't think how she'd react if another person from Soul Society arrived at her door. Although with what was happening that would eventually be inevitable. But then Captain Kuchiki came in behind Chad with a very controlled neutral expression. It was as if all of these events had no effect on him. Which was probably the case.

Ichigo was scowling, displeased with the Captain's presence, but let him in regardless before closing the door and moving so he was over by Orihime. Chad looked to be alright, which Orihime was relieved. She thought for a split second that he'd come over because he'd gotten hurt but then again with a Soul Society Captain with him that would've been highly unlikely in the first place so that thought was discarded. Then she noticed Captain Kuchiki had Ichigo's body, which meant he knew Ichigo was staying here tonight, and he proceeded to drop it on the floor, with a loud thunk. Ichigo clearly wasn't happy with the Captain's careless treatment of his body, but he said nothing as he got into it, then sat down by Orihime.

"Reinforcements will not be coming. The head captain decided that unless this escalates any further, we should be able to handle it ourselves." Byakuya spoke emotionlessly then looked at Renji and Rukia. "Until this issue has been resolved, you two are not to return to Soul Society for any reason."

Renji looked as if to protest, but Rukia gave him a sharp look and he made his face go completely blank. "What about you?"

"I can only return for official business." Same emotionless tone. Then he turned to Orihime and Ichigo. "You, Ichigo, are to never let her leave your sight. Renji will be with Chad at all times. Your father is going to stay with your sisters. He is well aware of what your responsibilities are."

Ichigo nodded. He had guessed his dad had been informed after Byakuya had walked in, carrying his body. "I wasn't planning on leaving her alone at all."

"Good. Wherever you go, she goes, and the same way." Byakuya sighed. "This isn't something that Soul Society has ever had to deal with. Or not that I know of anyway. I will be returning to my post now. Rukia, Renji, you too as well." Byakuya walked out, followed by Renji and Chad, but Rukia didn't move, even as the door closed.

"And where are you supposed to be?" Ichigo asked hesitantly.

"Here. My brother thinks that Orihime is the bigger target, and therefore requires more protection." Rukia sat down in a chair. "It makes sense to me. And Chad can hold his own really well if he has to."

What she didn't say, but was implied, _Orihime really can't defend herself. She isn't a fighter_. Orihime picked up on this and didn't disagree. If anything, she was in agreement. She already knew she was going to have to rely on Ichigo, couldn't do anything to protect him in the way he can protect her. This upset her quite a bit, but she understood and therefore knew having Rukia with Ichigo to protect her was better. At least if Ichigo was in any trouble, Rukia could help him out. Orihime stared down at her hands. She felt completely _useless_.

Ichigo was a little irritated by the implied fact that Orihime was useless. She wasn't _completely_ useless, her healing abilities were very useful, without them, Ichigo could've been in serious trouble in past fights. Yet Rukia made it sounds like Orihime was totally useless as if she could do nothing. His hands curled up into fists and he said nothing, just contained his rage.

Rukia picked up on Ichigo's anger though. "I'm not saying Orihime couldn't protect herself. It's just…she only has healing and defensive abilities. And to be honest," She looked at Orihime. "No offense to you, but you just aren't suited for fighting."

Orihime shrugged. "No offense taken. I understand."

If it was Ichigo, he would've gotten so mad he would've lost control of his reiatsu right then and there. Yet Orihime was so calm, so understanding, so accepting of the harsh truth, Ichigo was amazed. But then again, any other reaction would have been out of character for Orihime. He took a deep breath, and worked on calming himself down. He would never have reacted so badly before; he really _was_ different.

"I'm going to go patrol the block. I don't sense anything out of whack, but since this thing is a hidden threat it seems, patrolling is still a good idea." Rukia sighed and walked outside.

That left Ichigo and Orihime alone, sitting there in silence. Tension was radiating off of Ichigo, Orihime could actually feel it. She also noticed how tensely he was sitting too, his jaw clenched. She didn't like to see him like this, but she knew that there was nothing she could say or do to get him to relax. It made her sad knowing there was nothing she could do, but it couldn't be helped. This situation was one thing that would escalate rather quickly, yet Soul Society couldn't see that. If anything, it was already escalating.

Ichigo was frustrated that Soul Society was abandoning them so easily. This situation was already escalating, yet this is still a _minor_ issue? It didn't make any sense to him that they were just willing to abandon a few of their best fighters and focus on issues that seemed miniscule to him. The head captain always made decisions that didn't make any sense to him but he already knew there was nothing to be done about that.

He looked over at Orihime, to see her staring in concern at him. He realized that she was probably picking up on how stressed out he was. She was good at picking up on what others were feeling. He never understood how she did that, but he wondered if he should at least try to relax so she won't worry so much. He sighed and clenched and unclenched his hands, trying to relax, but having no luck. He was mostly irritated about the lack of back-up Soul Society was sending. One captain? He was sure that wasn't enough. Kenpachi would have been enough….maybe Byakuya will be, he didn't really know. But he was absolutely frustrated.

"Are you okay Kur-Ichigo?" She asked.

"Just frustrated." He sighed. "I thought maybe we'd have more help, for something like this. But no, apparently it's not a big enough deal."

"Maybe Soul Society has more…important things to deal with." She shrugged.

He stared at her for a full minute before he said anything. "I doubt there's anything more important than this right now."

"You don't know that. You're not there." She said quietly.

"I know. But they almost never have anything big go on over there. So why can't they send more people to investigate?"

"You never know." She sighed. "Maybe they are investigating this over on their end and that's why they can't send anyone else over?"

How was she being so insightful right now? He didn't understand how she was thinking like this, but he seemed to be seeing stuff he didn't. But something in what she was saying seemed to calm him down. He wasn't sure why, but he was definitely feeling better after she said what she said.

"Maybe you're right." He finally said, after sitting in silence for a moment.

Her face turned pick and she shrugged. "It was just a thought."

"A very insightful thought."

She shrugged again and smiled. She had one of those moments of clarity where she could actually think of something useful to say. This wasn't typical of her; usually she got lost in her own mind that got very…weird. The only real moments of clarity she had actually had in a while was around Ichigo…and sometimes even then her mind clouded up and there weren't very clear thoughts. It depended on what was going on around her. And today was just one of those days where she put her thoughts to good use, for once.

She could tell that Ichigo was impressed that she came up with such a thought. Even with other times she had times like this she almost never spoke her mind. She never felt brave enough to do so. She took Ichigo's comment as a compliment and she went all warm on the inside. She beamed at him, feeling like the happiness might explode out from her, despite everything that was going on around them. She wondered if she really should be feeling like this while times were so bad. But it shouldn't be bad to feel a little happy in the middle of bad things…

"Orihime." He said for maybe the fifth time. He'd been trying to get her attention for a few minutes now, but it appeared she was spacing out.

"Huh?" She looked at him.

"I asked you if you were alright. You got a little…spacy there." He said softly.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." She smiled at him. "I was just thinking."

He didn't really want to invade her private thoughts, so he waited to see if she would say anything, and if she wouldn't then he would leave it alone. He knew that she would pretty much say whatever was on her mind if she wanted to talk about it.

"Is it so bad to be happy right now?" She asked him.

His eyebrows knit together. "Why would it be bad?"

She shrugged. "Just with this bad stuff going on, would you think it would be bad to be so happy?"

"Of course not. I mean it would be bad if you were happy _about_ the _bad_ stuff. But that's obviously not the case. So no, it's not bad to be happy right now."

She sighed. "Okay." She put a hand on his leg, as if she wasn't thinking about it. "I wonder what it would be like if none of this affected us. How different our lives would be."

"Ummm…" He couldn't think of an answer. He never had given much thought to suddenly having a normal life here. Heck, his life was never normal since he'd been seeing ghosts all his life. What was normal for them? There was no answer to that. "I have no idea."

"I think…" She suddenly looked down. "If we wouldn't have gotten all entangled in this mess, we wouldn't have gotten close. We'd probably just be people that we knew through Tatsuki."

That thought was not a pleasant one to Ichigo. But it really was a true thought. If they hadn't gotten so entangled, then they wouldn't even be friends. Just classmates. They wouldn't be here together right now, they'd be living their own lives…normal. He felt a cold chill take hold of his body. He didn't know what to make of no Orihime in his life as prominently as she was now. He didn't like that.

"That's depressing to think about." He finally said. "Let's not think about that."

"Right. Sorry." Her face lit back up with her trademark smile.

The door swung open and Rukia came inside, kicking the door closed behind her. "They all disappeared again."

"What's going on?"

"The hollows are just appearing and disappearing."

"Where were they last?"

"Your house, Ichigo. But that's where they disappeared. They didn't touch your family."

He felt his entire body go icy.


End file.
